Zahn’s Thrawn: Treason heads to SDCC with con exclusive edition

Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn: Treason is the latest Star Wars novel to be offered as a con exclusive edition, this time for next month’s San Diego Comic Con. There will be both a hardcover and audio version ($45 each, $90 for both), and wristbands will be required. Each copy has a new cover, comes signed by Zahn, and includes an enamel pin. Check the graphic in the gallery below for more.

SDCC runs July 18-21. The standard versions will be on sale July 23.

Rise of Skywalker editing done on-set

The Rise of Skywalker editor Maryann Brandon talks about editing the film on-set – over J.J. Abrams’ initial objections.

“I was like, ‘just try it, so I can start turning over shots.’ So I was on the set the entire time, and he got so used to it that he was like, ‘you need to be less than ten feet away from me at all times’ – so if the camera would move 10 feet, I would move 10 feet. I was everywhere! Outside, in a water tank…”

The timeline for this one was tighter than The Force Awakens, which Brandon also edited, by four months. The Rise of Skywalker is in theaters on December 20, 2019.

Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland is open, mostly: Here are the reviews, the details, and the nerdiest question answered

The first Star Wars land opened this week in California. Galaxy’s Edge in Disneyland only has one ride running, but that didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s enthusiasm. (Though at least one review did mention it. More reviews: StarWars.com, EW, /Film, Polygon and Hypable.)

But maybe the neatest was seeing the reaction of some of the first fans allowed into the land:

Continue reading “Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland is open, mostly: Here are the reviews, the details, and the nerdiest question answered”

Report: Laeta Kalogridis penning KOTOR film for Lucasfilm

There’s a little more grist for the Old Republic being the subject of an upcoming Star Wars film – and that a Star Wars film may have a woman screenwriter for the first time in decades. Buzzfeed News reports that Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island, Alita: Battle Angel) is writing a film based on the Star Wars video game Knights of the Old Republic. It’s possibly the first film in a trilogy, their sources say.

The last woman to have a screenplay credit on a Star Wars film was Leigh Brackett, who developed early versions of The Empire Strikes Back.

This isn’t the first time KOTOR has come up in the context of the post-Skywalker world – Kathleen Kennedy seemed very open to the concept last month, and there’s a shaky rumor that David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were heading in that direction as well.

Buzzfeed says Kalogridis was brought on last spring. They don’t say which of the currently announced filmmakers Kalogridis would be working with – if any. The initial announcements for both Benioff and Weiss – who we know are helming the 2022 film – and Rian Johnson say they’re doing their own writing, so Kalogridis’ film could be something completely separate, or perhaps the plans have changed.

A straight adaption of the game seems unlikely, but even something inspired by it would be welcome among a large group of fans who played the games. (Well… Maybe. With this fandom, you never know.)

What we learned about The Rise of Skywalker from Vanity Fair

Per usual, the Vanity Fair story on the upcoming Star Wars film – The Rise of Skywalker, the final episode of “the Skywalker saga,” the grand finale of all three trilogies, etc. – was chock full of information. Granted, most of it’s peicemeal, but that’s where we tiny fan blogs live, isn’t it? Let’s dig in.

Continue reading “What we learned about The Rise of Skywalker from Vanity Fair”

Galaxy’s Edge roundup: Expect to pay $200 to build your own lightsaber

Galaxy’s Edge is opening soon, and we’re starting to get some details. The build-your-own lightsabers will cost you about $200 (which isn’t that shocking – that’s just a little more than a standard ForceFX lightsaber, which is – or was – the highest quality mass-produced lightsaber toy.)

You’ll also have the option to build your own droid. It’s $100 for a custom droid, and $150 for the DJ R-3X. To be fair, he is really neat:


Now that we’ve addressed the price tags, here’s a nice piece on the design process for the staff – err, cast member – uniforms.


That John Williams theme? You’ll probably not heard it-as is. Instead, it serves as “the musical foundation” for what you’ll hear in the park.


Also: Enforcing the time limit! Droid tracks! Bathroom breaks!

Rise of Skywalker score recording to begin in June

John Williams will start recording The Rise of Skywalker in June, per an interview with orchestra contractor Sandy DeCrescent (via) DeCrescent is in the process of selecting the musicians for Wiliams, but the interview is also about her own history in the industry – she’s the the first woman contractor in the industry.

In the meantime, here’s Williams’ theme for Galaxy’s Edge, which was released back on the 4th:

Bob Iger: 2022’s Star Wars film is from Benioff and Weiss, third live-action TV show possible

As we suspected, the post-hiatus Star Wars films will be kicked off with something from Game of Thrones‘ David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, Bob Iger confirmed today. So now we know they’re handling at least the 2022 film, and… That’s about it. “…the next movie we release will be theirs,” the Disney CEO said at the MoffettNathanson Media & Communications Summit. “We’re not saying anything more about that.”

As for TV, Iger also said that there’s likely to be at least one more Star Wars series for Disney+, in addition to Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian (out in November) and Stephen Schiff’s Cassian Andor/K-2SO series (expected for 2020).

“My guess is there probably will be at least one more live-action series that we produce for Disney+, a Star Wars series, before we release the next film,” Iger said. “So we’re not doing nothing. I believe these TV series will be extremely popular for Star Wars fans and very very valuable to Disney+ while we gear up for the next set of films. We haven’t said anything more beyond what we’ve announced on the next film.”

As for the three-year hiatus following The Rise of Skywalker, it is in part to “figure out what’s next.”

“We’re hard at work doing that already,” he said. “Three years was the proper amount of time to not only take a breather and reset, but really gear up for the next film’s release.”

Maybe get some fresher voices in there? While I remain mildly intrigued with the concept of the Cassian show, The Mandalorian looks straight out of Dark Horse’s ’90s comic offerings, and the final season of Game of Thrones is not exactly out there covering itself in glory. I realize there’s a lot of gaps here (Rian Johnson, buddy?) and it’s still early, but I am not particularly optimistic about the state of on-screen Star Wars right now.

But hey, at least we’re getting Episode IX. Vanity Fair and Annie Leibovitz, we turn our weary eyes to you.

John Williams has seen The Rise of Skywalker, of course

Composer John Williams has seen an early cut of The Rise of Skywalker, likes it “very much” and has written about 25 minutes of the score, he tells The Times. The original article is behind a paywall, but head to /Film for the relevant quote.


Several new stills from The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi have surfaced via an interview with with still photographer David James.


As the opening of the first Galaxy’s Edge park grows closer, there are new photos of the land and details on how they’ll be enforcing the initial four hour limit. Of course, if you have the connections, there’s always a personal tour with Bob Iger.